Halitosis, commonly known as bad breath, is a common concern for many people. The most common source of halitosis is thought to be the tongue. Gram negative, anaerobic bacteria are prone to proliferate in the papilla structure at the posterior or rear of the tongue. The papilla form a multitude of niches or irregularities which are favored breeding grounds for the anaerobic bacteria as they simulate non-oxygenated micro environments. The anaerobic bacteria break down specific components such as amino acids found in the saliva generating or producing sulfur containing metabolic by-products. These sulfur containing by-products are volatile and have been implicated as the major cause of odor and/or halitosis. It is interesting to note that these same bacteria which are associated with the causation of halitosis are often the same bacteria considered as the etiological agent for periodontal disease.
The detection and diagnosis of halitosis has traditionally involved self-monitoring which is typically accomplished by breathing into one's own hand and then sniffing the trapped contents or a person suspecting that they have halitosis can utilize another person to sample their breath and render a subjective diagnosis.
Devices or monitors for the detection of halitosis are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,803, to Nakamura, issued Apr. 25, 1989, discloses a device for testing human exhalation for halitosis. Other prior art devices are known for analyzing a subject's breath for volatile sulfur emissions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,161, hereby incorporated by reference, assigned to the same assignee as the subject invention, discloses a method and apparatus for electro-chemically detecting and quantifying sulfide levels in gingival sulci to determine the presence and extent of gingivitis and periodontal disease in a subject. The method disclosed therein employs a probe which is inserted into the sulcus and which includes a miniature sulfide measuring electrode and a reference electrode. U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,312 also assigned to the same assignee as the subject invention, discloses a probe for diagnosing periodontal disease by the concentration of sulfides present which includes a sulfide responsive measuring electrode and a reference electrode joined by a salt bridge to assure electrical continuity between the sulfide responsive electrode and the reference electrode.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous and desirable to have a method for diagnosing the presence and extent of halitosis activity on the surface of a subject's tongue by measuring the concentration of sulfides thereon.